We’ve all done it. We are walking through a store, or browsing some games online when a particular title catches your eye. You may know what the game is, or this could be the first time you’ve seen it. The only similarity between those factors is you weren’t planning on purchasing whatever it is. You quickly rage a mental battle about whether you should get this game. Maybe you’ve heard good things and just forgot about it, or maybe the cover art just looks so appealing you can’t explain the attraction. Whatever the reason, you throw it in your physical or metaphorical cart and pay for your impulse purchase.
It’s always a little nerve-racking playing an impulse purchase. You hope the game is long enough, fun enough, entertaining enough, or just plain good enough that you didn’t waste your hard earned cash. Sometimes it turns out to be a huge mistake, and you can’t help but kick yourself. I’ve been known to be an impulse purchases and it has led me down the road of self-regret many times. But I’m not here to talk about my mistakes, I’m here to talk about the 5 best impulse purchases I’ve ever made.
This isn’t the world’s greatest game, but I had hours and hours of fun in a game I didn’t even know anything about. I did see some gameplay, but I had no intention of picking it up. I found myself in Best Buy and it was just staring me in the face. I grabbed it and the whole way home I felt guilty for doing it. Until I started brawling with my Kung-Fu in the street and having the time of my life. It only took a couple hours for me to know it was not a mistake in any way. I haven’t gotten the remaster yet, but I’m seriously considering it.
It’s no secret I love Bloodborne. I’ve written two features about it already and I’m still playing it after a month it released. I’m addicted to it. It’s currently my GOTY and has made my top 10 favorite games of all time. Can you believe I had no intention of picking it up? I didn’t even see gameplay for it. I didn’t even read any previews and I only saw one trailer after Bloodborne was already released! It wasn’t on my radar at all. It wasn’t until I watched my friend play it for me to think it looked kind of cool, but I still had no intention of grabbing it.
I went to Target to get Battlefield: Hardline and there was a special for buy 1 get ½ off. I saw Bloodborne and figured why the hell not. Scooped it up and I’ve been playing ever since. It’s incredible I think for Bloodborne to go from completely irrelevant to one of my favorite games now. I almost missed this, and I consider myself lucky for randomly buying it.
Journey was the second downloadable game I ever purchased. The only other one was Trine. It was a Friday night and I wanted to stay in to binge on some video games. I didn’t have anything new so I was planning all week to buy I Am Alive. When I signed into PSN I saw this game Journey. I remember reading some reviews but it sounded weird. It didn’t seem like anything I particularly would like. I honestly don’t know why I did it or what convinced me, but I ended up downloading Journey instead of I Am Alive. Thank the heavens.
Journey is one of my favorite games of all time—easily. I’ve put a dozen hours into it and it takes less than two hours to beat. The world, story, musical score, and overall tranquility it radiates has always hooked me. To think, I almost bought I Am Alive, a game with mixed reviews and something I would play once or twice, instead of a Game of The Year winner. Whatever unknown forced made me get Journey instead, you have my thanks.
2. Uncharted 2
That’s right, Uncharted 2 was an impulse purchase for me. Uncharted 1 was just okay to me, so I never felt like I wanted the second one. Even crazier, I didn’t even like it. I beat the campaign in a couple days and felt immediately regret—something many impulse purchases can cause. I felt I didn’t get my money’s worth. I went online and hated the PvP multiplayer. I enjoyed the co-op adventure, but there were only two levels so it got old fast. I felt ashamed I bought this game.
It wasn’t that I hated the story, I liked it. It just wasn’t enough. I let the game sit for a week before having nothing else to do, so I started the story again. I enjoyed it a whole lot more the second time, and I’m not sure why. So much so, when I beat it a second time, I immediately started my third playthrough. It was then I discovered the co-op survival and realized I didn’t make a mistake at all. I spent weeks playing the survival co-op mode online. It was tough, fun, and tiring. I know I’ve spent well over 50 hours with Uncharted 2, and it is also one of my favorite games of all time. I don’t know why it took so long to click, but I’m glad it did.
1. Suikoden 4
Suikoden 4 is often considered the worst Suikoden in the series. I don’t know if I personally agree to that, but I can definitely see why. At the time, it was the first Suikoden I played so I didn’t have anything to compare it to. In fact, it may have even been the first JRPG I ever played. It’s hard to remember, because my first JRPG may have been Final Fantasy 9, but either way, it was before I knew I loved JRPGs.
I didn’t know anything about this game. It was a true impulse purchase, and I was young too a.k.a. I only had enough money for one game every few months. I went into Best Buy looking to purchase a game with some birthday money, and I can’t remember if I had some game in mind, but I can remember staring at the cover of Suikoden 4.
It promised pirate battles, lots of characters, enormous world to explore, long story, intense battles, etc., etc. It was a lot of the money to drop at the time for me, especially about a game I literally never heard of before. I bought it though, and I couldn’t be happier. I loved it, even if not the greatest, it led me to the other titles, which are some of the best JRPGs around. It’s my favorite series hands down, and it’s all because I randomly purchased Suikoden 4 on a complete impulse.
So those are my impulse buys. It’s a little funny looking at them and seeing how big the titles are and realizing how I almost missed these amazing games. I want to know your impulse buys. What were your worst ones and your best ones? Leave some comments below and let me know.